Just moving this to the proper thread - admin

wrote on Mar 23^rd, 2005 at 3:07pm:

;D

Basics
Where do you live? Twin Cities, MN
Approximate number of previous nights spent canoe camping? 25
Do you have the gear or use an outfitterer? I own gear
Preferred/Typical party size? 2-8
What length of trips do you do/available to do? 2-7 days
Preferred season? any but winter
What % of the trip do you travel/base camp? 100% base camp, but I want to change that
What difficulty level do you go for? depends on my mood
What area of the park are you most familiar with and do you want to spend time there or explore new areas? I am most familiar with Lake Quetico; I would love to spend more time there and to see other areas
 
Paddling
Bow or stern preference? No preference
What is your paddling rhythm? No idea...
Paddle the shoreline or beeline?  Beeline
How nasty of water are you comfortable paddling in? pretty nasty... hard to say
Do you have strong navigation/map skills?  not really
 
Portaging
Do you usually single/double/triple/or? portage? usually double, but single is a goal
Do you carry everything on your back, or alot of hand carry? back
How well do you handle the mountain goat portages? just fine
How well do you handle the boot sucking bogs? haven't had one yet
 
Camping Style
Would you rather cook or wash the dishes? cook
Fresh or dried foods? both
Cook over a fire, or over a stove? either
Cook breakfast or breakfast bars? breakfast bars or skip breakfast; I like to fish first thing
How many fish meals do you like to have during a trip? 1 each day
Hang the food pack or ground it? hang
Axe? Saw? Both? neither
Sit around campfire all night OR wake at crack of dawn? (or both) a little of both.  when base camping, i nap early-mid afternoon
On a travel day, what time do you like to hit the water? after fishing and breakfast
 
Fishing
How much time do you like to spend fishing? 24 hours, 7 days a week :-D
Which species do you like to go after? anything that swims
How much tackle to you bring? too much
Are you good with a fillet knife? yes.  
 
This is a short story, actually.  In 2000, I went to Quetico for a 9 day trip.  We took a float plane from Crane Lake, so we were stuck in the Q for 9 days whether we wanted to be there or not.  After finding our campsite, the friend who had invited me annouced that I had never even slept outside before and that I'd need alot of help (setting up tent, etc).  Everyone else in the group was not pleased and one of them predicted in his journal (I read this afterwards) that this was going to be the worst trip ever because of me.  The next day, we had 8 fish to fillet.... I filleted six in the time it took him to fillet two.  His journal entry that night was something like: "Although he has not been camping, he clearly has some skills for the outdoors".
 
Misc
Do you have any medical conditions to be considered? No
Level of alcohol consumption? Small
Are you a smoker? No
Is photography high on your list? Yes
Do you like to go after pictographs? I have yet to see one
Do you like to go after waterfalls? Yes
Do you like to go after the northern lights? Yes
 
Personality
If the bugs are bad, will it ruin the trip for you? No
What weather conditions are difficult for you to deal with? rain and cold
If we've got a problem, would you rather discuss it or bury it? discuss
Other than illness or injury what events or conditions would make you want to quit a trip early and head home? if the weather turns bad after a week of good weather, i'd leave a day early...but not more than that